Both people and tomatoes come in different shapes and sizes. That is because every individual has a unique set of genetic variations, mutations, that affect how genes act and function. Added together, millions of small genetic variations make it hard to predict how a particular mutation will impact any individual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) […] Read more
Tag Archives Science Notes
Plant mutation research aimed at predictability
Science Notes: More accurate breeding could result from more predictable mutations
Plant drought tolerance relates to pore openings
Science Notes: Molecule associated with relaxation controls the size of pores and water loss
A team of Australian and German researchers has discovered a novel pathway that plants can use to save water and improve their drought tolerance. The research published recently in Nature Communications shows that the molecule GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), most commonly associated with relaxation in animals, can control the size of the pores on plant leaves […] Read more
Scientists look to get more mileage out of plant enzymes
Science Notes: A way has been found to evaluate how long a given enzyme lasts
Enzymes play essential roles in the cells of every living thing, from bacteria to plants to people. Some do their jobs a few times and fizzle out. Others can repeat a task hundreds of thousands of times before they quit. Organisms put a lot of energy into replacing worn out enzymes, energy they could put […] Read more
Higher protein levels suggested for dairy calf starter
Science Notes: University study looks to find a winning combination
Dairy producers know early nutrition for young calves has far-reaching impacts, both for the long-term health and productivity of the animals and for farm profitability. With the goal of increasing not just body weight but also lean tissue gain, a new University of Illinois study finds enhanced milk replacer with high crude-protein dry starter feed […] Read more
Drones and AI detect soybean maturity with high accuracy
Science notes: The technology could greatly reduce the need for boots on the ground
Walking rows of soybeans in the midsummer heat is an exhausting but essential chore in breeding new cultivars. Researchers brave the heat daily during crucial parts of the growing season to look for plants showing desirable traits such as early pod maturity. But without a way to automate detection of these traits, breeders can’t test […] Read more
When resistance genes become a secret door
Science Notes: Genetic mechanism that produces oat blight discovered
A multi-institution team co-led by a Cornell University researcher has identified the genetic mechanisms that enable the production of a deadly toxin called Victorin — the causal agent for Victoria blight of oats, a disease that wiped out oat crops in the United States in the 1940s. Victoria blight is caused by the fungus Cochliobolus […] Read more
Density, not diversity key to northern forest carbon sequestration
Science Notes: Forests can play a crucial role in mitigating climate change
An international team led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has found that carbon sequestration is best in forests in cold and dry regions with an abundance of trees, not diversity of species. Inventory data from natural forests on five continents show that species diversity is optimal for equatorial and tropical rainforests, and that, conversely, […] Read more
Uneven farm productivity report shows COVID impacts
Science Notes: Some countries more vulnerable to pandemic-scale outbreaks than others.
The 2020 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report) — Productivity in a Time of Pandemics — released by the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, raises concerns about the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of pandemic-scale outbreaks that afflict people, crops, and livestock. New data from the United States Department of […] Read more
Enzyme helps grafting among different plant species
Science Notes: Tobacco plant maintains grafts among many scions and rootstocks
Grafting is a horticultural technique that joins plants together by means of tissue regeneration, combining desirable characteristics of both plants. Generally, grafts have been thought to be compatible only between the same or closely related species. However, scientists at Nagoya University and colleagues in Japan recently found that the tobacco plant Nicotiana benthamiana promotes adhesion […] Read more
Milkweed key to building monarch butterfly numbers
Science Notes: Monarchs appear to successfully migrate, but there’s concern about declining numbers
A recently published analysis of data on tagged monarch butterflies migrating from the United States to Mexico emphasizes the importance of creating new habitat to ensure the future of the species’ iconic migratory pattern. The study, published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, drew on data collected on 1.4 million monarch butterflies […] Read more
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